This administrative district of Moscow with a population of 207 thousand is located to the north-west of the Russian capital, some 20 km away from the Ring Highway. Urban development of this area which bears a telling name of Zelenograd-literally "green town"- began in 1958 on the site of several old villages and the community of Kryukovo. Zelenograd was originally planned as one of Moscow's "sleeping bag" residential areas with just a few light industry factories. It was in 1962 that the authorities thought the site was good enough for an electronics research center.

Like most such "science cities" of that time it was designed as a self-contained center incorporating all stages of R&D activities-from the development and production of the required "raws" to the building of microcircuits and sets of instruments and equipment. The project was a booming success right from the start with its gross output rising at a record annual rate of 25 percent. Within a relatively short span of time Zelenograd products conquered nearly the whole of the domestic market and even crossed the national frontiers.

The leading R&D center of Zelenograd comprises the Scientific Research Institute of Molecular Electronics as well as the MICRON and ANGSTREM enterprises.

The research institute has on its staffs Doctors and 48 Candidates of Sciences. Its products- advanced microchips-are used in local and telecommunications systems, computers and all sorts of radioelectronic equipment for commercial and military uses. Some of these electronics, for example, are incorporated into advanced Russian missiles like S-300, the famous TOPOL-M and so on. The latest "novelties" developed by the Center include basically new HF transistors and microcircuitry on the basis of

All these articles are manufactured at the MICRON Plant whose robotic and automated production lines turn out a total of more than 4 mln microcircuits of about 300 varieties. A fair measure of the quality of this output is the fact that more than 60 percent of it is exported to more than 20 countries including South Korea, China and Singapore. A new production line launched in 1998 turns out microchips down to 0.8 мm in size.

The ANGSTREM enterprise (which has on its staff one Doctor and 40 Candidates of Sciences and was founded in June 1962) provides a base for the development and introduction of new technologies, equipment and forms of labor engineering required for the manufacture of a wide range of science-intensive products and equipment. ANGSTREM specialists have designed and built some of this country's first multifunctional microchips (used on many space instruments), microprocessors, memory circuitry, single-crystal microcomputers, super-large integrated circuits and other items of this kind. Apart from components, ANGSTREM experts have developed for mass production consumer items like Electronika MK-85 microcomputers, Electronika MK-71 engineering solar power calculator and electronic games. All that is turned out by the million.

Today ANGSTREM is the leader among the Russian exporters of microelectronics with some 90 percent of its output going to Western Europe, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. The development program for the next few years aims at mastering the commercial production of 0.25 to 0.5 мm microchips.

And the role of both MICRON and ANGSTREM is not exhausted by their unique technological potential with each of them being the core of major manufacturing associations. Thus the General Director of MICRON, RAS Corresponding Member Gennady Krasnikov, heads the manufacturing concern NA-UCHNY TsENTR (Research Center) set up in 1997; it amalgamates 6 major plants located in Zelenograd. And the General Director of ANGSTREM, Valery Dshkhunyan, is also the head of the ROSSIYSKAYA

ELECTRONIKA (Russian Electronics) holding which was also established in 1997. It amalgamates more than 30 manufacturing plants located in various parts of Russia.

Ending up this survey of the two major Zelenograd enterprises, we must say that in the level of their production technologies, volumes and range of the output their only rival in the whole of CIS is the world famous INTEGRAL Association located in the Byelorussian capital Minsk.

Next on our list is the ZAVOD KOMPONENT center which specializes in microelectronics for space applications such as communication satellites, and onboard digital computers (like those installed on board the MIR space station). Experts of the Center (including one Doctor and 3 Candidates of Sciences) have developed, for example, radar responders for the global international system of search and rescue of ships in distress (such as DUYM-S and START-94 system), autonomous electronic stimulators of the gastrointestinal tract and mucous membrane, methane leak detectors (METAN-99), and even control panels for washing machines of a new generation, etc. Lately among the most promising products of the center have been VHP radio stations used by the Ministry of the Interior, the Federal Security Service, the customs, the border guards and other law enforcement setups. These stations are superior to their foreign-made rivals in terms of a greater operating range and better protection from tapping. All of these advantages combined make these VHP stations the equipment of choice for the special services of many countries including Great Britain and the United States.

Zelenograd is also the site of what is known as Nil-335 (Research Center 335) founded in 1962. Four years later it was reorganized into the Scientific Research Institute of Microinstruments (NIIMP) which was amalgamated in 1975 with the newly established ELAS R&D Center. The research potential of the Center (which has on its staff 5 Doctors and 25 Candidates of Sciences) has enabled it to provide a tangible contribution to the progress of Russia's space technology. One of the first achievements in this field was its SIRIUS set of instruments for remote diagnostics and telemetering used for testing and adjustment of ballistic missiles. Sets of instruments and equipment designed by the Center have been used on more than 10 types of space probes in the COSMOS series,

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SALYUT and MIR orbital stations, SURGUT-MOLNYA communication satellite systems and on the POTOK syncom satellite. Backed by a wealth of experience, the center launched development work in 1991 on the BANKIR (*) and SOKOL satellite communications systems employed by some of the federal and commercial agencies of Russia and other CIS countries. Bearing in mind some of the adverse conditions in near- earth space, the research staff is now working on multi-purpose systems of ecological monitoring of the environment.

Apart from commercial production, the NIIMP Center pays considerable attention to the training of skilled specialists, and a fair measure of their achievements in this area have been 78 degrees of Doctor of Sciences and more than 450 degrees of Candidate of Sciences conferred on its staff members over the last 30 years or so.

Another two R&D centers of Zelenograd-the Scientific Research Institute of Materials Research and ELMA Plant-specialize in a wide range of materials and structures for electronics. Being a single firm before privatization, these two organizations have retained their research potential under the new conditions (they employ 3 Doctors and 58 Candidates of Sciences) and maintain close production links with manufacturing enterprises. There is a good demand among the manufacturers of electronic equipment for such of their products as high-quality silicon panels of 200 mm in diameter and also "silicon-on-dielectric" structures. These provide the basis for super-large and super-fast integrated circuits with submicron dimensions (up to 0.25-0.3 мm).

Yet another product of the plant-silicon epitaxial structures-is used for manufacturing crystals of discrete electronic devices (diodes, transistors, etc.).

Also produced here are what are called active laser elements used in high-energy systems of medical instruments (these are used by the ZENIT and ELMA plants) and also in the machine-tool industry for surface cleaning of materials, metal cutting, etc. Also produced here are special materials on the basis of compounds like cadmium selenite used for infrared sensors.

Conforming in full to the SEMI international standards, the above materials are in broad demand not only in this and other CIS countries, but also in Great Britain, the United States, China and South Korea, to name but a few.

The ZENIT Scientific Research Institute boasts a long and eventful history. It started out in 1962 as a R&D Bureau which specialized in gas-discharge sources of high-intensity optical radiation. Today it is a large manufacturing enterprise (called ZENIT since 1992) with a developed research and production base. Its staff includes 5 Doctors and 18 Candidates of Sciences which focus their efforts on the development of up-to-date protective devices for helicopters and armoured vehicles. Within the framework of the program of conversion the center also turns out devices for civilian uses, such as traffic lights on super-bright diodes. Since 1994 ZENIT has been successfully demonstrating its products at the EUREKA international shows in Brussels, winning a total of 11 medals. Gold medal winners include a laser perforator for con-tactless sampling of blood; a method of prevention and treatment of lesions caused by ionizing radiation on the basis of a high-intensity pulsed laser therapeutic unit; a household ultraviolet sterilizer and a solid-state minilaser on dyes with variable wavelength for laboratory investigations.

The Institute exports its products to Austria, Britain, Germany, China, the United States and France.

Another active figure on the Zelenograd market is the STELLA R&D Center. Apart from optoelectronic systems for special technology, it also produces medical units

with ultraviolet and laser emitters (LITA-1 therapeutic pulsed laser unit and ALOK-1 unit for laser irradiation of blood). Also made here are electric vacuum devices some of which are used for photo flashes, while others-as pump-up lamps in laser systems; still others are employed for all kinds of lighting equipment. For example, one KNU-1 lamp has the power of some 10 searchlights and an assembly of two such lamps can illuminate an area of up to 4 hectares (10 acres).

One of the "pillars" of Zeleno-grad research is the Scientific Research Institute of Physical Problems (NIIFP). Founded back in 1964, it now has the status of a federal research center. Its staff, which includes 9 Doctors and 70 Candidates of Sciences, is dealing with some of the key problems of electronics. Investigations are conducted within the framework of the "presidential" special-purpose program "Development of Electronics Technology in Russia" and the federal programs "National Technological Base" and "Research and Development in the Priority Areas of Science and Technology for Civil Uses".

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The list of its innovations adopted for commercial production includes silicon cool autocathodes used for all kinds of flat displays, liquid-crystal indicators and other devices. A special place on the R&D program of the Institute belongs to what are called submicrone, nanomolecular and superconductor technologies and micro-mechanic articles. Among the latter are optoelectronic image readers, sensors and products on the basis of polymer materials. Among the most significant achievements scored by the Institute in conjunction with the NT-MDT Center is a series of scanner probing microscopes (*) (SOLVER P47, SOLVER P47H, SOLVER P7LS, and SMENA). These devices can not only scan individual atoms of investigated materials, but also manipulate them. The above instruments, and also special probes on their basis-cantilevers-have already secured a strong position on the international market and among the users are Britain, China, the United States, France and Germany.

* See: "A Microscope Scans Atoms" in the present issue of the magazine.-Ed.

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But the "menu" of the Center does not end there. Its experts have developed a polymer data display which is just 2-3 microns thick. They have synthesized materials, developed technologies and obtained first samples of polychromatic and effective light sources of arbitrary shapes and flat alphabet-digital indicators on the basis of electroluminescent polymers.

In the field of medical research, the research staff have formulated what they call the physico-chemical aspects of ensuring the biocompatibility of the polymer-blood interface. The efficiency of the proposed technology, based on the use of superfine carbon layers, has been confirmed by studied carried out at the Research Institute of Transplantology and Artificial Organs of the RF Ministry of Health. Also produced by the Center are highly effective molecular-capsular forms of VETORON vitamins, and vitamins-enriched bread on its basis is now offered to the public by some 50 bakeries in various Russian cities. A special building on the NIIFP grounds is occupied by a synchrotron for which experts developed an original design and production technology of the focusing and high-power monochromators (*). The unit will make it possible to launch a center for research in the fields of electronics technology and also medicine, biology and ecology.

In addition to its own projects, the Institute takes part in some international ones such as, for example, in cooperation with its Italian partners on the subject of "Molecular and Biomolecular Nanostructures" and in a project codenamed ELBA in the area of bioelectronics and molecular engineering. It is also a member of the international foundation "Electronics Biotechnology Advanced" and participates in the US-Russian Union of Sensor Biology and Biosensors, the International Society for Optical Technology and several other associations of this kind.

Next on our list is the ELPA R&D Institute which focuses on the studies and practical uses of the piezoelectric effect. On the basis of piezoceramics the center produces components for communications equipment, radios and TV sets (such as filters and resonators, acoustic antennas, transformers and motors) and also acoustic electronic devices for a wide range of frequencies (microgenerators, etc.).

In addition to a range of such components, the center also produces a broad line of general- purpose commodities such as electronic meters of arterial blood pressure (IAD-1), desodorators, household ozone generators PIEZON, and KOLIBRI ultrasonic activators for washing machines.

Experts of the NAUCHNY CENTR R&D Institute are focusing on a wide variety of items- from aerospace instruments to sensors for household appliances. Its staff, which includes 3 Doctors and 30 Candidates of Sciences, produces automatic control systems for various technological processes (SAU-600/16), starters for luminescent lamps and industrial lighting systems. Its specialists have developed a range of digital and microprocessor automatic telephone stations (TsATS NTs-16, NTs-AM-256, and so on), "coinless" public phones and a system of their centralized control, telephone chip cards and so on down the line.

Of particular interest among the products designed at the Institute is a set of devices for mobile satellite communication and an inertial space guidance system for urban traffic in big cities. The latter makes it possible to control urban traffic from a central panel via satellites if motor vehicles are equipped with corresponding instruments.

In 1976 the Institute launched research into the production of transistor materials in zero gravity (similar experiments on the growth of monocrystals are started at the Moscow Institute of Chemical Problems of Microelectronics (**)). Since the start of the project more than 40 technological experiments have been conducted on board the SALUTE 6 and 7 orbital stations

* Monochromator-instrument for identification of narrow frequency band of optical emission.-Ed.

and the MIR station, and onboard equipment has been designed for growing crystals in orbit. Similar research is to be continued in the Russian section of the ALFA International space station.

The manufacture of microelectronic components requires a production base of its own, like that of most other high-tech products. The development of such a base has been the main preoccupation of the Scientific Research Institute of Precision Engineering (NIITM). Today this is the only organization in Russia which develops equipment for the making and processing of fine films required for the production of integrated circuits.

In addition to the above leading R&D centers of Zelenograd we should also mention several other local producers of industrial and household equipment. The first among them is ELAKS-the leading producer among CIS countries of pitch motors for electrotechnical equipment. This includes printers, disc guides, faxes, cash registers, lighting equipment and so on. The menu also includes compact EDMA magnetotherapeutic devices for family medicine (used to cure arthritis, radiculitis and similar disorders), plasma welders ALPLAZ-04M and registration equipment for petroleum products.

A leading role in this country in the training of specialists in electronics, information science and communications belongs to the Moscow State Institute of Electronic Technology which is also located in Zelenograd. During the 35 years of its existence it has graduated more than 17 thousand top-notch specialists. In recent years the range of its disciplines has been extended so that the Institute (which has received the status of a Technical University) now trains economists, designers, psychologists, and school teachers. The faculty includes scientists with an international standing, including more than 30 full members and corresponding members of the Russian Academy, 80 Doctors and about 400 Candidates of Sciences.

Apart from the above R&D centers which have been the "backbone" of Zelenograd over its history of nearly 40 years, the town has a booming small-business community covering various fields. The ELMA-MALA-HIT Agency, for example, specializes in monocrystals and panels of arsenide and gallium phosphate-the basic materials for the production of active elements and integrated circuits for solid state VHP microelectronics. The ANKAD Firm develops KREPTON systems of data protection from unauthorized access with sets of basic software and equipment for the protection of telephone conversations from tapping. The company also produces cryptographic equipment for data encoding and readout from plastic smart cards used in banking, commerce and in service fields. Important high-tech products are supplied by the EPIEL firm which specializes in transistor structures on the basis of silicon produced by epitaxy (*).

What are called "technoparks" are set up on empty lots in the city for the promotion of small businesses. Such lots are used by firms like ELVIS (development of super-large integrated circuits), JAMES RIVER RUS (production of holographic equipment), the RAKAS Company (lighting equipment) and TECHNOBIOFARM (produces hemostatic preparations for medical applications).

In February of the year 2000 yet another innovative-industrial complex was commissioned under the auspices of the RF Ministry of Science and Technology. This is a new type of organization for this country which combines minor innovative businesses with large-scale production. The complex incorporates the Moscow State Institute of Electronic Technology, the RF State Research Center (Tekhnologichesky Tsentr), another two innovative-technology centers and the PROTON Plant specializing in electronic equipment. All of these enterprises are incorporated into a common economic structure which helps reduce to a minimum the time from the start of some basic research to launching the production of hightech output.

An untapped "resource" for future development of Zelenograd is an area of some 67 hectares (about 170 acres) set aside in 1986 for the construction of a second stage of the Informatics and Electronics Center. The project so far remains on paper due to a lack of the necessary investments.

In October 1997 Moscow City Mayor Yuri Luzhkov issued his instruction "On the Establishment of a Territorial-Industrial Zone with a Special Status in Zelenograd". Approved by the Moscow City Duma (Council), the document provides for a range of economic advantages offered to enterprises within this free economic zone, including tax concessions. And the results were quick and obvious: during the first sixteen months the share of tax payments to the local budget increased in step with the rapidly growing industrial output, and more than 1,200 new jobs were created.

As we said above, actually not a single instrument or electronic device produced in Russia for civil or military uses can do without some basic components from Zelenograd. This especially applies to advanced high-tech gadgets and circuits some of which are but fractions of a micron in size. As a result Russian firms can put on the market competitive TV sets, computers and similar products which little by little will supplant more expensive imports. This awareness is fully shared by most, if not all of the residents of Zelenograd who are showing a true devotion to their town and all it stands for.

* Epitaxy-oriented growth of one monocrys-tal on the surface of another (substrate).-Ed.

Незнание истинного устройства Вселенной — главная беда человечества, которую оно должно одолеть.
Ignorance of the true structure of the Universe is the main misfortune of mankind, which it must overcome.